This blog will return on Monday. I will be in Sweden to attend, and take part in, the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors' Forum. But two people who should be in Gothenburg have been prevented from leaving their country. The wife and daughter of Li Changqing, the Chinese journalist recently released from a jail sentence, were hoping to accept the 2008 Golden Pen press freedom award on behalf of Li.

Instead, Bao Dinling and Li Sidi had their passports confiscated by police at Beijing airport. This prompted Timothy Balding, the ceo of the World Association of Newspapers, to issue a statement condemning the "scandalous new abuse of power by the Chinese authorities". He added: "Not content with repressing free information and locking up dozens of reporters, they have to persecute and restrict the movement of their families."

Li Changqing, a reporter and deputy news director of the Fuzhou Daily, had previously been prevented from obtaining a passport. In February, he was released after serving a three-year sentence for "fabricating and spreading false information" after he disclosed an outbreak of dengue fever before the health officials in his home town alerted the public.

The Chinese authorities have also ordered the country's media representatives to boycott the congress and forum.